


And My Heart Besides

by BoxOnTheNile



Category: Haikyuu!!, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Chara continues to ruin everything, Gender-Nonconforming Asahi, I am a sinner, M/M, Nishinoya family headcanons, Sans is pretty cool, Temporary Character Death, resetting is weird kids
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-05-04 21:40:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 6,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5349542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoxOnTheNile/pseuds/BoxOnTheNile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Instead of Frisk, Noya and Asahi fall to the Underground. They're really gay and really bad at this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Of Visitors- The Fairest

**Author's Note:**

> I am sinner.
> 
> All chapters will probably have a line by Emily Dickinson for a title.
> 
> Story title from "It's all I have to bring today"

Nishinoya groaned softly, pushing onto his hands and knees. He hurt, but not too badly-he was sure he’d gotten worse bruises in practice than from that fall. “Asahi-san? Are you alright?” He reached out to tap the other boy, and he groaned.

“I think my ankle twisted,” the spiker admitted, tentatively brushing over his left ankle. He hissed in pain. “See if you can find something for a splint.” 

Noya nodded. “Okay, uh, stay here. Of course you will, what am I even…”

“Nishinoya,” Asahi interrupted. “I’ll be fine for a few minutes. Go ahead.”

Noya scurried off down a small tunnel attached to the pit the two had fallen down, scooping up a sturdy-looking stick as he went. 

“Howdy!”

Noya froze, glancing around, finally noticing a flower bobbing up and down in front of him. A flower with a face. It grinned at him.

“I’m Flowey! Flowey the Flower!”

“Oh my god.”

“Hmmm, you’re new to the underground, aren’tcha? Golly, you must be so confused. Someone ought to teach you how things work around here!”

Noya stared at the flower. How hard had he hit his head?

“I guess little old me will have to do. Ready? Here we go!”

A small heart, glowing the same orange as Noya’s volleyball uniform, floated from the libero’s chest. The flower grinned brightly. “See that heart? That’s your SOUL, the very culmination of your being. Your SOUL starts out weak, but can grow strong if you gain a lot of LV. What’s LV? Why, LOVE, of course. You want some LOVE, don’tcha?”

“My mom said not to take things from strangers,” Noya deadpanned, trying to step back. The orange heart- his SOUL, apparently- seemed to hold him there.

Several small and white somethings winked into being behind the flower and drifted toward Noya’s SOUL. When the first one touched it, pain shot through him and he dropped to his knees.

“You idiot…” he heard the flower hiss. “Down here, it’s kill or BE killed.” The white somethings ringed his soul and crept inward, closer and closer…

Until what appeared to be a well-placed fireball blasted the flower away. A large creature, taller than even Tsukishima, moved toward him. It had floppy ears and goat horns. When it extended a hand, it had paw pads nestled in white fur.

“What a terrible creature,” it- she?- said, “torturing such a poor innocent youth.” She smiled warmly. “Do not be afraid my child-” but Noya cut her off, throwing the stick at her. His SOUL returned to his chest and he ran back toward Asahi.

He skid to a stop in front of the ace, grabbing a few stones to pile at his feet. “Noya?” Asahi asked, but the libero shushed him. The creature poked her head around the corner, holding up her paws in a non-threatening way. Asahi gasped.

“That’s close enough!” Noya shouted, but her eyes were on Asahi.

“Are you hurt?” she asked him, soft and worried. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I want to help. I am Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. You are the first humans to come here in a long time.”

“Noya?” Asahi asked again.

Noya tightened his grip on the rock. Asahi needed help, but… “If I see that weird SOUL thing again, there’s going to be a problem.”

“Of course,” Toriel said, approaching slowly. She crouched at Asahi’s side. The spiker’s ankle was swollen and red. “What are your names?”

“Asahi, and the loud one is Nishinoya.”

“Noya,” he corrected gruffly. Toriel covered Asahi’s ankle with her paws for a moment, and when she moved them, the swelling was gone. “Holy shit.”

“Some so young shouldn’t say things like that,” Toriel scolded, and Asahi howled in laughter. Noya scowled and tugged at the hem of his sweater- technically Asahi’s, but Noya had begun to feel cold, and though the sweater dropped nearly to his knees and needed to sleeves rolled up, it was warm.

“Noya is sixteen,” Asahi explained, “and I’m almost two years older.” He got carefully to his feet, gingerly putting weight on the previously injured ankle. “Where are we?”

“The underground,” Toriel explained. “Monsters were banished and trapped here thousands of years ago.” She stood and dusted her robe. “Come with me.”

 

Noya flung himself onto the bed in the room Toriel gave them and moaned. Asahi patted his shoulder. “You didn't have to handle everything, Noya.”

“If a SOUL is a culmination of your being, yours is probably as glass as your heart. I'm not risking it. Besides, you did that SAVE thingy. In the leaves.” Noya tucked his face into the purple sweater he still wore. 

“I just… I was determined to make you stop hurting.”

“Determined, huh?” Noya smiled. “Are you still determined? Because a kiss could help.”

Asahi laughed, but pressed a quick kiss to Noya's lips. “Love you.”

“Love you too, goof.” Noya frowned slightly. “Think Toriel knows how to get back home?” 

“Let's ask tomorrow,” Asahi suggested. “You're exhausted.”

“Yeah,” Noya agreed. “Goodnight, Asahi-san.”


	2. It Sifts From Lead Sieves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skelebros, and Noya loves puns almost as much as Sans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These are short because this is kind or a side project? I wanna get used to writing these characters.

The first step out of the Ruins was freezing. Asahi gritted his teeth and hunched his shoulders against the cold. Noya tucked against his side, shivering through the thick blue and purple sweater he borrowed. 

“Come on,” Noya urged around chattering teeth. Asahi realized he was too small to regulate his body temperature. He scooped up the smaller boy and settled him on his hip. “Don’t argue, you’re freezing and hurt.” Noya huffed angrily, but buried his nose in Asahi’s shoulder. 

The libero looked back at the door to the Ruins. Just like with every other monster they’d run into, Noya hadn’t hurt Toriel, but she had seemed heartbroken when they left. “Think she’ll be okay?”

“I don’t know,” Asahi admitted, taking Noya’s hand. “Let’s keep going.” Asahi set off down the path, holding Noya close to his side and picking his way through the snow, stepping carefully over a fallen branch. He was approaching a bridge over a small stream when he heard the branch snap behind him. Noya stiffened against his side. 

“Humans. Don’t you know how to greet a new pal?”

Noya launched himself from Asahi’s arms to tackle the monster behind them. “Asahi, run!”

Shockingly, the monster under Noya- a skeleton?- started laughing. “Relax, I’m not gonna hurt you. You’d think with all this snow, you two would be more chill.” The skeleton spoke with a low, masculine voice.

“...Was that a pun?” Noya asked, slowly peeling himself off the skeleton to stagger to his feet. “That was a pun.”

“It was a pun,” Asahi confirmed, reaching to help the skeleton off the ground. He didn’t seem dangerous, and hadn’t hurt them yet. “Hello. I’m Asahi. That’s Nishinoya.”

“I’m Sans. Sans the skeleton. Anyway, you two are human, right? That’s hilarious. I’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now.” Sans shrugged. “But… I don’t really care about capturing anybody.” He winked, and Asahi decided not to question how a skeleton could wink. “My brother, Papyrus, on the other hand… He’s a human-hunting _fanatic_. Hey, actually, I think that’s him over there.”

Noya immediately stepped between Asahi and the bridge. “He better not be.”

“Noya!”

Sans laughed again. “Don’t worry, he’s not dangerous, even if he tries to be. Hey, I have an idea. Come on, across the bridge.” He ushered them across. Noya refused to let Asahi carry him again. Sans led them to a small clearing with an outpost he told them to hide behind. Asahi ducked behind it and pulled Noya to his chest. The libero was still hurt from the battle with Toriel, and the brief walk reopened a cut on his forearm that was bleeding sluggishly.

There were footsteps, then Sans said, “‘Sup, bro?”

“You know what’s ‘sup,’ brother! It’s been eight days and you still haven’t recalibrated your _puzzles_! You just hang around outside your station! What are you even doing?!?”

“It looks better from this side. Go on, look.”

“I don’t have time for that! What if a human comes through here? I want to be ready! I will be the one! I must be the one! I will capture a human! Then, I, the Great Papyrus, will get all the things I utterly deserve! Respect! Recognition! I will finally be able to join the Royal Guard! People will want to be my friend? I will bathe in a shower of kisses every morning.”

“Maybe my outpost can help you.”

“Sans!”

Noya smothered a snicker into Asahi’s chest.

“Take it easy, bro, you’re working yourself down to the bone.”

Noya burst out laughing while Asahi groaned. He’d nearly forgotten how much his boyfriend loved puns.

“Sans, what is that?”

“Oops.”

Asahi kept Noya from poking his head over the counter of the outpost and stood up himself. 

Papyrus was tall, probably as tall as Asahi, with the same pinpricks of light in his eye sockets as Sans. “Sans,” the taller skeleton asked. “ Oh my god. Is that a human?”

“That’s my outpost.”

“Oh.”

“But what’s inside my outpost?”

“Oh my God! Is that a human?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my God!” Papyrus cleared his throat and posed. “Human, you shall not leave this area! I, the Great Papyrus, will stop you! I will then capture you! You will be sent to the Capital! So continue only if you dare!” He dashed off.

Noya hauled himself up to sprawl across the counter, laughing hard enough he could hardly breathe. “Oh my god. Oh my god, Asahi, he’s- he’s Shouyou. It’s Shouyou! As a skeleton! Ow, it still hurts. My burns are stinging again.” He slid bonelessly over the counter and flopped into the snow. “Asahi, can you do the SAVE thing?” 

Asahi nodded, because Noya’s laughter filled him with DETERMINATION.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come listen to me scream on my tumblr onthenilerivah.


	3. Like One in Danger; Cautious

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I will stop updating in the middle of the night. Today is not that day.
> 
> I have a hex code for Asahi's SOUL color: ADE6C5

Grillby’s Diner was warm, and Noya saw Asahi relax for the first time since they left the Ruins. He plucked guiltily at the hem of his borrowed sweater, but Asahi had refused to take it back. Greater Dog barked at them from its table, and the spiker grinned, his hand drifting to his chest. Greater Dog had been a surprise, and Asahi had been the one to battle it. His SOUL was a pretty green, so pale it was almost white. It reminded Noya of sea glass. 

Noya pulled his boyfriend into a booth. “Okay,” he started. “We need a plan. How are we gonna do this?”

“We don’t know anything about his attacks, except blue stop signs?” Asahi said. “It’s not like volleyball, there’s not plays that stay pretty consistent team to team.”

“You could just kill the moron.”

Both boys jumped at Flowey’s sudden appearance. The flower smirked. “I’m just saying,” it continued, “it would be so much easier. If you don’t fight back, one of you is going to lose your SOUL. It’s not like it’ll be hard to get his,” Flowey nodded toward Asahi, “weak as it is. 8 HP? If Orange wasn’t protecting you, you’d be dead already. Of course,” the smirk turned to a fanged grin, “he’s not much better off. How many times have you RESET, huh? How many times has he died for you?”

Noya lunged across the table to grab Flowey, but it ducked into the ground, its laugh echoing.

“Twice,” Asahi whispered. “Once with Toriel, then the two dogs.”

“I know. I remember.” Noya told him. “I knew you’d fix it.”

“So it's you messing with the timeline.” Sans slid into booth across from them. “I knew someone was, but I didn't think it was you.” He laced his phalanges together and rested his chin on them. “So, kids, you look worried. Pap won't take it far enough you need to RESET, so don't get so worked up.” He grinned, and something about it was reassuring. Tension loosened its hold on Asahi's shoulders, and Sans noticed. “You're an anxious one, huh? So is Dr. Alphys.”

“Here that, Asahi?” Noya goaded. “There's a monster with a glass heart, too.” His own smile was wide and brilliant, well aware Asahi had given his glass heart to the libero. That smile held the same promise it always had: I have your heart, and I won't let it crack.

Sans glanced between them. “Holy shit, you two are gross. Stay like that, it's a good way to survive down here.”

 

Asahi had his focus half on Noya and half on the bright point in his mind that is his last SAVE. It didn’t look like it will be needed; Noya had dodged every attack Papyrus has thrown at him, smirking and flirting the way he does when he's excited. The flirting seemed to fluster Papyrus, especially when Noya dove to the side with a breathless laugh and a cry of “You’re amazing!”

He knew Papyrus had hit his limit when Noya dramatically somersaults over a slow-moving bone with his trademark “ROLLING THUNDER!” The skeleton was heaving for breath, but his eyes were bright with confidence. “It’s obvious I’ve won here, which is why, human, I have decided to SPARE you!”

Asahi expected Noya to start a fight at the comment, but he just laughed, hair damp with sweat and snow and lying limp against his flushed cheeks. That bright grin turned to him, and Asahi let the SAVE point free of his mental grip.

Papyrus joined in Noya’s laughter. “Well, human, I shall be at my home when you decide to meet me for our date!” He posed and rushed off.

Noya staggered to Asahi’s side, still laughing. He had to cling to the ace’s side for a moment. “Apparently, he can’t tell the difference between my excited flirting and my actual flirting.”

“I think I’m the only one who can,” Asahi teased, brushing a lock of hair away from Noya’s eyes. The libero rolled up onto his tiptoes as he pulled Asahi down for a kiss, a slow, gentle thing Noya normally reserves for Asahi’s periods of self-doubt.

“I gotta go let a skeleton down easy,” Noya muttered into his mouth. “I hope he doesn’t cry. I think Sans might flip his shit. Not that he’s that scary, but…” He pressed their lips into another quick kiss. “Shit, that felt like one of Old Ukai’s practices.”

“Oh no,” Asahi said, horrified. “We’ve missed three days of practice.”

“Asahi,” Noya said sternly. “We will worry about that when we get out of here, okay? Deal with one problem at a time. Do we need to find you somewhere dark and quiet? Are you gonna have an attack?”

“No.” Asahi breathed in deeply and held it for a moment. “No, I’ll be okay. We… We should try to text our families and Daichi, though.”

“Yeah. Yeah, but not here. I’m starting to get cold, and the less time I’m in a polyamorous relationship, the better. You’re enough boyfriend for me.”

They made their way back to Snowdin, where Papyrus cheerfully invited them both inside. 

Noya worked on re-spiking his hair as Papyrus fussed in the kitchen, the skeleton talking loudly about how some monster get sick in the cold and were humans like that he would make them something warm so they didn’t get sick before the date-

“Pap,” Noya interrupted. “Thanks, really, but… I can’t date you. I’m already dating someone and he isn’t comfortable with polyamory or open relationships or things like that right now. So yeah.”

“Oh good,” Papyrus looked as relieved as a skeleton could. “I was going to tell you we couldn’t date because… well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Oddly enough, he glanced at Asahi sadly, then held eye contact. “I suppose there’s someone for everyone.” He patted Asahi’s shoulder and stage whispered(or was that just as quiet as he could be?), “I saw how you looked at him. I’m sorry.”

Noya doubled over laughing. “No, Papyrus, Asahi _is_ my boyfriend. I can’t date you because I’m dating him.”

“Oh!” Papyrus shouted, and the sound of a trombone came from the upper landing. “Sans! Stop plaguing my life with incidental music!” The taller skeleton huffed and poured boiling water from the kettle on the stove into two mugs, dropping teabags into both before passing them out. “Here. You know, if you’d like, you could stay here for a little bit? I’m sure you’re headed to the barrier, but the Capital is a bit of a walk. Three days! So you should rest for a bit.”

“Yeah, okay.” Asahi said as Noya nodded. The ace was exhausted, and he hadn’t been fighting, so he could imagine how Noya felt. 

The skeleton household had a large couch that Papyrus insisted they rest on while he made dinner. Noya tucking himself against Asahi’s side, cradling his tea mug with both hands. “Make sure you SAVE,” he murmured, and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, with the polyamorous mention, I am not trying to... I don't know, demean it? Healthy polyamory is a viable thing, but, for this au and my personal characterization, not a thing Asahi is comfortable with at this point in time. If it came across that way, I'm sorry, and feel free to let me know how to fix it at my tumblr, onthenilerivah.


	4. Bow to Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chara~~ *jazz hands*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is six hundred words but I didn't want the Chara and Waterfall plot points in the same chapter, so.... Also, I want Waterfall in Noya's POV.
> 
> Also, some references to Japanese in this, because in this universe whatever town Karasuno is in sits at the foot of Mt. Ebott. Plus, I took a semester of Japanese and I remember stupid stuff about it.
> 
> Edit: Fixed my FUCKING Japanese.

_”It would be so much easier if you just let me handle it,” it sneered, fiddling with its knife. “He wouldn’t have to get hurt. He wouldn’t have to die.”_

_”Akuma,” Asahi deadpanned. The demon/child had first appeared in the Ruins, lurking at the corner of his vision, but it seemed to only be able to contact him in his sleep._

_It scowled. “My name is Chara, not Devil. You know, I thought you liked Yuu.”_

_”You don’t get to call him that,” Asahi said, keeping his voice even. Chara’s face twisted and it lunged for him with its knife._

Asahi jolted awake into an anxiety attack and tumbled off the couch to the floor. Noya immediately peeked over the edge of the couch, scrambled off, and rubbed the space between his boyfriend’s shoulders. “Hey, shhh, it’s okay,” he murmured over Asahi’s shaky breaths. It wasn’t one of his worse attacks, the kind that made him sit out of practice or class as he attempted to drag himself out of a spiral of panic. 

“I’m fine.”

“I know when you’re having an anxiety attack, babe. Scale of one to ten.”

“Shi.”

“Shi as in four, or shi as in death?”

“Four, sorry.”

“You’re okay. That diner looked like an all-night diner, do you want to see it they have tea?”

“We have some.”

Asahi’s head whipped towards the stairs, where Papyrus was shifting awkwardly while Sans rubbed at his eye sockets. The taller skeleton smiled sheepishly. “We heard the thump. But we do have tea, for when Undyne comes over. And Sans has chamomile after his nightmares.”

“Chamomile,” Noya said decisively. “With three spoonfuls of honey.” He ran his fingers through Asahi’s hair to help him calm down faster. “So, nightmare? What was it about?”

_”I thought you liked Yuu.”_

_”You don’t get to call him that.”_

_I don’t get to call him that._

“I don’t remember,” he said, and the lie twisted in his belly.

 

The next morning found them hunting through Snowdin’s local shop for a sweater for Asahi. Noya loudly requested his own, as apparently striped shirts denoted children in the Underground, but Sans made an offhand comment on how that might help them later. Now, the libero was trying to talk Asahi out of getting what looked like a carbon copy of his school sweater, to no avail.

“I’ll lose you in the snow, come on,” Noya wheedled, poking his boyfriend’s side.

“I’m too tall, Noya. You won’t lose me.”

Noya’s brow creased. “Are you alright? We can go back… Did you take your meds this morning? I know they were in your bag when we fell.”

In the corner of Asahi’s eye, he saw Chara smirk and polish its knife on its sweater. 

_”It would be so much easier if you let me handle it.”_

All he had to say was yes…

“Asahi? Earth to Asahi?” Noya had his head cocked to the side, waving his hand in front of Asahi’s face. “Wow, okay, yeah, let’s get the sweater then go get your meds.”

Asahi let Noya pull him from the store, aware of Chara tailing behind them.

“Let’s get them and go,” Asahi said. “The sooner we get out of here, the better.”

He SAVED, and Chara’s grin widened.


	5. Almost a Loneliness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well fuck

Noya chewed on his lip, watching Asahi from the corner of his eye. He’d been acting weird all day, eyeing shadows and jumping at the whispers of echo flowers. 

“I’m fine,” Asahi insisted when he caught Noya’s gaze.

Noya stopped walking, reaching out to grab the back of Asahi’s sweater before he could keep going. “Why are you lying to me?” He could hear the hurt in his voice and cursed internally.

“Noya…”

“Talk to me.”

“Why haven’t you let me call you by your given name?”

“What? Really? That’s what this is about?” Noya snorted. “My mom calls me Yuu, and it’s, I dunno, her thing? I’m Noya to everyone. Ryuu started it when we were little, said our names were too close.” He scuffed his shoe against the dark stone of Waterfall. “If you wanted to, you could call me Yuu, I guess. It’s not a big deal.” He reached over to take Asahi’s hand in his. “So we cool?”

“Yeah,” Asahi said, squeezing his hand lightly. “Come on, let’s go.”

 

Noya loved Waterfall. He excitedly pointed out the crystals, the flowers, the engravings; coaxed Asahi into a frayed tutu found behind one of the falls. The older boy kept brushing his fingers over the pink tulle and smiling.

A few months ago, Asahi had visited Noya’s home. His mother's family was from India, and she'd showed him how to wear her sari when he'd shown interest. Noya bought him hairpins that weekend.

They spent a while in the wishing room, Noya pointing at each crystal and whispering a wish. “I wish we win the Spring Inter-High.” “I wish Asahi-san spikes the winning point.” “I wish _Maaji_ isn't too worried. I'm all the family she has.”

“I wish we get out safe,” Asahi breathed.

Noya kissed him breathless, and Asahi SAVED. 

 

If it wasn't for the continual fear of Undyne, Waterfall could have been peaceful. Noya chattered incessantly to keep that feat at bay, but there was only so much he could do. Asahi kept expecting the terrifying feeling of a spear grazing his SOUL, his HP dropping. 

It was eating at Noya’s insides. This was something he couldn't protect his ace from. Asahi was already feeling the guilt of Noya handling all the fights, but now? Noya knew his boyfriend. Asahi wanted Noya to take his on an instinctual level, and hated himself for it. Add whatever had been already bothering him to the mix… It was only a matter of time until the ace began to self-destruct.

Noya bit into his nice cream, restoring HP from the last battle with some monster named Aaron. Asahi was soaking wet, wringing Woshua’s overzealous drenching from his hair. Both their sweaters had been spread over rocks to dry. The libero stared at the fading bruises on his arms. 

What was he supposed to do?


	6. And So the Walls Don't Tell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not sure I like the title for this one, but nothing else fit. 
> 
> Um.... warnings for mentions of gore and temporary character death.

The glassy green heart shatters, reality shivers, and the world RESETS.

 

Asahi staggered to the wall of the cavern, shaking. His gut wound tighter and tighter until he heaved, the contents of his stomach spattered on the ground. 

Noya rubbed his back, speaking softly in what sounded like the English/Japanese/Hindi pidgin he spoke with his mother at home. Asahi choked on a sob, the pain of Undyne’s spears piercing both body and SOUL echoing in his nerves. 

_ithurtsithurtsithurts_

His memories blurred; he was safe he was dying he was vomiting he was bleeding bleeding bleeding….

Soft hands cupped Asahi’s SOUL, guided it back into his chest, reached up to hold his cheeks. The cold pad of a thumb stroked away tears; chilly fingertips pulled his face to to rest in the joint of a shoulder, combed through his hair. Asahi felt the steady, periodical warmth of breath against his neck. The barbs of panic loosened their hold on him, lifting from skin and bone and muscle with agonizing slowness. 

“I can't,” Asahi choked, and Nishinoya murmured “I know” into his hair.

 

Noya was good at watching. He watched his team to fill the holes in their defense, watched opposing teams to learn their habits and tells, watched the monsters of the underground to avoid the magic they flicked loose like tea from a spoon.

Now, he watched Asahi as the older boy cradled a mug of hot chocolate and stared blankly at snow falling outside the skeleton household. Both humans were wrapped in blankets and borrowed clothing while the washer under the stairs whirred, buzzed the end of its cycle. No one moved to change it, because the skeleton brothers were watching Noya watch his ace.

The brothers had run into the humans at Sans’s station just inside Waterfall, Noya guiding a shell-shocked Asahi back towards their home. A bone weary Nishinoya described what had happened, then explained the RESETS to Papyrus. 

Which brought them here. Noya wished his mother was here. Fuck, he wished anyone were here. He didn't know what to do anymore. His memories of dying were blurry, almost unreal, as if viewed on the screen of a flip phone. From the look in Asahi’s eyes, his death was all too vivid.

God help and forgive him, Noya was ready to empty the entire goddamn underground if it meant that expression leaving his lover's eyes. 

As if hearing his thoughts, Asahi turned his gaze from the window, looking at the others with a haunted expression. 

“Hey,” Noya said with a forced smile. “You doing alright?” He shuffled to his boyfriend's side, the end of his blanket cloak dragging behind him. Asahi pulled the libero into his lap, burying his face just above bleached bangs. Noya wrapped his arms around the spiker. “You're safe now, babe.”

Asahi breathed into Noya’s hair raggedly. “Do you think the team is okay?”

“Without the ace? Are you kidding? Shouyou is good, but he's no ace. Ryuu isn't even ready for that kind of responsibility yet.”

“You're more important, Noy- Yuu.”

Noya grinned against Asahi’s chest. “The libero is irreplaceable, huh. Especially since Daichi is the only other decent receiver.”

“Throwing everyone else under the bus?”

“If it weren't for us, Karasuno would still be ‘unflying crows’.”

“You're pretty cocky, Yuu.”

Noya laughed, muffled by Asahi’s torso. “I love you.” He leaned back, kissed the tip of Asahi’s nose. “We're gonna get home. We'll try Waterfall again tomorrow.”

“Can Undyne meet you?”

Noya twisted to look at Papyrus. “Why?”

The skeleton fiddled nervously with the small bones in his wrist. “Maybe if she meets you, you can be friends, and she won't want to hurt you anymore.” He lifted his gaze from his lap, orange tears pooling at the edges of his eye sockets. “Did I ever hurt you?”

Both boys shook their heads. “I don't think you're capable of hurting someone, Paps,” Noya said. “But… okay. Yeah. If it means we can get through Waterfall without Asahi getting hurt again, I'll dance naked through the snow. Let's meet Undyne.”


	7. Is There Such a Thing as Day?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I will stop updating on my phone in the middle of the night. Today is not that day. 
> 
> Also, if you like this, please take the time to comment. I'm about ready to shove this in my folder of "Shut Up, Nile, No One Cares". A lot of my stuff goes there.

The tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. Yellow eyes held amber, both narrowed in suspicion. 

“Papyrus,” Undyne said, her voice fall falsely calm. “Why are there humans in your house?”

“Well, you see,” Papyrus drawled, fiddling with his scarf, “I did fight Nishinoya, but he flirted with me, so I thought I had to date him. But! I could tell Asahi was in love with him, and felt really guilty. Turns out, they were already dating! So I became their friend instead.”

Undyne exhaled heavily. “Okay.” There was a manic edge to her voice that reminded Asahi of Daichi. “Fantastic. You made friends with the humans.” Her hands flexed around the spear they held. 

“Put the magic away, huh, Undyne? Pretty sure humans bleed like some of you flesh monsters, and I don't need that in my carpet.” Sans’s slippers made soft _shush_ sounds against the floor as he pushed a teacup into Undyne’s grasp. He carried a mug of hot cocoa that was tucked deftly into Asahi’s hands, along with- oh thank god. 

Asahi curled his fingers over the anti-anxiety pill before popping it in his mouth. 

Noya drew Undyne’s attention to him. “Look, do you really want the blood of a couple of punk kids on your hands? I just wanna get home to my mom. We have a volleyball team that needs us. Neither of us can even drink yet.”

Undyne’s shoulders slumped in defeat. “You are a couple punks, huh. Big-n-tall doesn't look like he could hurt someone if he wanted to.” She rolled her eyes back to stare at the ceiling. “Some guard I am.”

“There's a kid here,” Asahi said softly, “that idolizes you. They said you would never hurt an innocent. We've never hurt anyone. We've done our best to help them, even. You're doing the same. That makes you a good guard, I think.”

Papyrus was literally starry-eyed across the room: his eye lights had gone star shaped. Asahi quickly hid behind his mug in embarrassment. 

His blush eased into something softer at Noya’s gentle chuckles. “You big, dumb glass-hearted baby,” the libero muttered, uncharacteristically quiet. “I love you.”

“Guardian deity,” Asahi demurred in fragile reverence. It felt odd for such a romantic moment to be happening in front of other people. Noya’s eyes glittered with affection, and he rocked up onto his toes to press a kiss to Asahi's chin. The smaller boy nuzzled along Asahi’s jawline and whispered, “Keep it up.”

It was an act, Asahi realized. Open displays of emotion humanized- monsterized?- the two of them, which made Undyne less likely to hunt them after this. 

Maybe it would be enough to get them through this. 

 

Asahi struggled not to run from the room and hide. Undyne had been watching him from the moment she'd arrived. He understood _why_ : he was bigger and more physically intimidating than Noya. 

_Doesn't mean you're stronger,_ Chara hissed. It must have been gaining power somehow, because now Asahi could hear it when he was awake, if not always see it. _Poor, glass-hearted Azumane. It's only a matter of time before you give in, then you'll see how good it feels to gain LOVE._

He shivered, and heard Chara laugh in his ear. Sans’s eye lights flickered in his direction. “Paps,” the smaller skeleton said. “How about you and Nishinoya fill in Undyne on everything while Asahi and I get groceries. We're almost out of spaghetti noodles anyway.”

Asahi spent about half a second in love with a monster. 

The door had barely swing shut behind them when Sans asked, “Chara?”

“You know about Chara?”

Sans chuckled, but it was a mirthless sound. “You aren't the first person that could RESET. A kid named Frisk fell before you. They RESET to their fall again and again; I was never quite sure why. The last time they RESET, Chara got to them somehow.” Sans rubbed at his chest with another hollow laugh. “Frisk must've got control again sometime after killing me and passed off their power to RESET, because you're here now.

“Chara seems to want whoever has that power. You're not listening to it, right? Because I don't wanna kill my friend again.”

“It keeps saying it's the only one who can keep Noya safe, but if someone got hurt? He'd never forgive me. Doesn't seem to stop it.”

“No.” Sans ducked his head. “What's your goal, kid?”

“Get Noya out,” Asahi responded immediately. “I want to try to free the monsters, but… I can't lose Noya, and I don't want to die.”

“If Frisk could break the barrier with their soul intact, I'm sure you can, too.” Sans grinned up at him, hand settling on his chest again. “Heh, I'd like to feel the sun again.”

Asahi frowned a little. “You will. If it can be done, if this Frisk figured it out, I'm sure Noya and I will, too.”

The two picked out groceries at Snowdin’s local market, Asahi gathering the ingredients for tonkatsu ramen. Sans wished him luck in getting Papyrus to relinquish the kitchen, especially to a guest. 

Asahi felt tension drain from his shoulders and thought maybe he could do this.


	8. Someone the Sum Could Tell

Noya pulled Papyrus from the kitchen, where the skeleton had been hovering over Asahi's shoulder. “Cooking helps his anxiety,” Noya explained. “Our fridge at home is constantly full of stuff, and my mom keeps teaching him recipes.”

“Aren't you a little young to be living together?” Undyne asked from her place on the couch. She'd calmed down a lot, even apologizing after RESETS had been explained to her. 

She'd asked Asahi how she could make it up to him. He told her she hadn't technically done anything. 

“Yeah,” Noya said, “but his parents weren't thrilled about a lot of things that make Asahi who he is, so he's living with my mom ‘n me.”

“Things like?” Undyne prompted at the same time Papyrus declared “But that's ridiculous.”

“I'm gay, for one,” Asahi said, leaning against the wall at the entryway to the kitchen. “Gender nonconforming as well. Apparently a family friend saw me kiss Noya while wearing hair clips. Didn't go over well.”

“They kicked you out because you like boys and pretty things?” Undyne’s face twisted in disgust. “I'd kick their butts if I could.”

“Suga-san punched one of ‘em,” Noya said idly, messing with his phone. It chimed. “Message failed to send again. I'm gonna try Ryuu, for the fifth time. Any luck with Daichi?”

Asahi pulled his phone from his pocket. “Nothing.” 

“Are they your friends?” Papyrus rocked from heels to toes and back again. Noya remembered the way the skeleton reacted when Asahi offered to be friends with him and turned to Papyrus with a wide grin. 

“Yeah! Ryuu and I have known each other since we were babies. I bet he'd really like you. I'll introduce you guys when we get out.”

“You're going to get us to the surface?” Papyrus’s eye lights went star shaped again. 

“Absolutely,” Asahi chirped from the kitchen. “We'll find a way that doesn't involve any more death. I think you'd get along well with Hinata, Papyrus.”

“Oh my god,” Noya whispered, his grin growing wider. “He and Shouyo would be best friends. Oh my _god_.”

“Suga and Toriel.”

“Oh my god, don't, I am mothered enough!”

Asahi’s bright peals of laughter were contagious. 

Noya wiped tears from his eyes when the laughing fit. “Hey Asahi.”

“Yeah?” The spiker peeked around the corner. A lock of hair had escaped the loose bun at the nape of Asahi's neck and curled over his cheekbone.

The others in the room, in the world, didn't matter. “I love you.”

 

“So,” Noya began, laying his chopsticks across his empty bowl. “We have a game plan?”

Asahi didn't move his gaze from where he watched Sans slurp at his ramen, trying to figure out _how_. “Uhm, no. I don't think so. I… I think Sans has some information he can add.”

“Put me on the spot,” the skeleton muttered into his ramen. “So, like I told Azumane, he’s not the first human to fall down here with RESETS. A kid named Frisk was before you two. They figured some way to break the barrier without giving up their SOUL, but I’m… not sure how. I’ve got hazy memories of previous timelines, but never that.” He stuffed a piece of egg into his mouth. “Lemme get my notes.”

Noya jolted out of his chair with a loud curse in Hindi, then proceeded to lay on the floor moaning, “Of course he teleports. Of course.” into the tile.

Sans reappeared and dropped a small pile of journals onto the libero. Noya made a noise of protest before opening one of them. “Saw the flower again. Makes me uncomfortable. Can’t remember why.” He turned the page, skimmed it, and closed the journal. “Asahi,” Noya said, sickly sweet. “We’re killing a fucking flower.”

“Don’t swear around Paps,” Sans admonished. 

“Okay?” Asahi snagged a journal off Noya’s hip, giving him a small smile. Noya watched him for a moment- his boyfriend was gorgeous, he loved him, is it too early to think about marriage?- and felt a frown crease his brow. Asahi’s body language was defensive, the way it got when assholes in the supermarket made homophobic comments.

Noya nudged Asahi’s foot with his own. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Later,” the spiker muttered. 

“You need to be honest in your relationships,” Papyrus chirped, “romantic and otherwise. If something’s wrong, maybe we can help!” 

“Eventually,” Asahi promised. Noya prodded him harder. “Yuu, I promise. Later.”

“I'm holding you to that,” Noya groused. “So, what should we plan for in Hotland?”

Undyne grinned. “Let me tell you about Alphys…”


	9. Sore Must Be the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have you seen this?
> 
> http://amigreen.tumblr.com/post/146314272315/i-really-like-haikyuu-and-i-really-like-undertale

_Dust in the air, clinging to his skin and hair and clothes, coating his throat with each breath until he was choking._

_The child in front of him turned, red eyes lit with a manic light. “Oh Asahi. You did it. You kept him safe. And all it took was your SOUL.”_

 

 

Asahi jolted awake with a scream, scrambling to pull the pale green heart back into his chest. 

 

_**Ç̷͎᷂̳͙̫͍᷂̪᷇̋ͭ᷇ͮͩ̆Ą̶᷂͉̬̯̹᷂̏᷉᷈̏᷁᷇͝L̺᷂̠͍̞᷂᷂̉᷁ͥͯ͑̽͘͢M̧̢᷂̹̙᷂͔͙ͬ̒̊̐͋͌̅ D̙͔̹᷂̪͕̭᷂᷂͐̂̌̋᷆ͨO͉᷂͕᷂᷉ͭ̿̇̇͂ͤ̑́᷀̚W̷̰̣᷂͕᷂̤͂᷄̊̾̍̚͢͝N̡᷂͇᷂͔̥᷃̑͗᷀̇̓᷈̕ͅ** _

 

Asahi looked up. He knelt in a patch of light, two glowing words hovering above his head. From the swirling darkness, a figure stepped forward. Its form blurred at the edges, almost as though the darkness was reluctant to release it. Its skull was cracked at both eye sockets, and its mouth gaped in a ghastly grin.

 

**_Ȳ̛̠̳̦͙̖̬̫͒͠Ơ̵̖̠ͦ̀̀Ŭ̙͍̮͔̣͑̽ ̵͉͇͓̞̿ͅA͔̲͒͘͡R̜͖̼̟͈͂̌͊̾͢͜͡E̶̶̥ͨ̅̄͗̉͋ͧ ̲̝̞͙̊̽́ͫ͞S̨̙̤̽͒̒̂̌̽͞Ą̞̺̟̝͉͓̲̒͒ͣͤ̂F̴̧̛̥̿ͮ͒̌̄ͣȆ̉̎̽̒̓ͮ̐̂̀͏̠_ **

 

“I can’t understand you,” Asahi cried. The voice, the words, _hurt_ , and he somehow knew he shouldn’t be hearing them.

The figure stared, then lifted its hands, bony fingers making familiar shapes.

_It was signing,_ and Asahi quickly motioned for it to slow down. All of Karasuno knew sign language, having learned it for Tanaka’s sake so the hard of hearing spiker didn’t have to risk damaging his hearing aids at practice. Noya was the most fluent, of course, but Asahi should be able to communicate.

**SAFE.** it signed. **MY NAME IS G-A-S-T-E-R.** The fingerspelled name was followed by a “g” hand starting at the right eye socket and flicking up- a name sign.

**MY NAME IS A-S-A-H-I,** followed by his own name sign, an “a” starting at the crown of his head and dropping to his shoulders. **WHERE-** he paused, then gestured wildly around him.

Gaster used an unfamiliar sign. Asahi furrowed his brow and tilted his head to the side to indicate confusion.

**V-O-I-D.**

**NOT-SAFE** Asahi signed forcefully.

**SAFE FROM CHILD.**

“Chara?” Asahi asked. “It can’t get me here?”

Instead of answering, Gaster turned to study the glowing words above them. Asahi couldn’t seem to read them, no matter how hard he tried…

 

 

He woke up.


End file.
